BELIEVERS: What do you think of William Lobdell, religion reporter, who believed, but left an atheist?

Question

http://www.latimes.com/news/local/la-me-lostfaith21jul21,0,3530015,full.story?coll=la-home-center

[EXCERPTS]

WHEN Times editors assigned me to the religion beat, I believed God had answered my prayers.

As a serious Christian, I had cringed at some of the coverage in the mainstream media. Faith frequently was treated like a circus, even a freak show.

I wanted to report objectively and respectfully about how belief shapes people's lives. Along the way, I believed, my own faith would grow deeper and sturdier.

But during the eight years I covered religion, something very different happened.
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AS the stories piled up, I began to pray with renewed vigor, but it felt like I wasn't connecting to God. I started to feel silly even trying.
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And I considered another possibility: Maybe God didn't exist.
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Clearly, I saw now that belief in God, no matter how grounded, requires at some point a leap of faith. Either you have the gift of faith or you don't. It's not a choice.

Answer 1

It shows that the closer you get to the reality of suffering in the world, the harder it is to believe in a just and loving God. Unless of course, you are a sadist and like to rationalize your faith to the extent that you can convince yourself that such people deserve their problems due to their sinful lifestyles. Gotta love it.

Answer 2

I read the whole article and really liked it.

To the less than intelligent person who said which makes more sense, that would be the universe formed by itself. Because otherwise in order for the supposed god figure to do it then that god would be detectable, testable, and verifiable. That god could not exist outside of it's creation because then it could not create.

Answer 3

"As a serious Christian, I had cringed at some of the coverage in the mainstream media. Faith frequently was treated like a circus, even a freak show."

Well... it is.

Answer 4

He certainly discovered it is a freak show.

Good for him.

Now, the believers will throw Anthony Flew and Francis Collins at you.

Answer 5

I understand and empathize with his problem completely. I still bounce around not fitting into any set belief (or lack of). I don't suppose I will ever fit, nor do I think I want to....

Answer 6

Let him go be an atheist.
What do I care? He's not the first person to leave, and he won't be the last.

Answer 7

This guy is a typical liberal reporter who doesn't know his @$$ from a hole in the ground. Atheism makes little sense. Which sounds more logical: The universe made itself or God made it?

Answer 8

I think nothing.